The Foodie’s Gift Guide to the South Bay

What to get for the foodie who’s eaten everything? We’ve rounded up some of the best of what South Bay food artisans have to offer, all of which make excellent gifts. With everything from bacon-toffee chocolate to handmade red velvet macarons, there’s bound to be something exciting for even the Grinchiest food lover.

Snake & Butterfly
From the modest origins of a home business started amongst a group of friends, Snake & Butterfly has—thanks in large part to a successful Kickstarter campaign last year—grown into a retail space in downtown Campbell. Snake & Butterfly uses organic, fair trade cocoa beans and roasts them in-house. Their signature chocolate bars come in inventive flavor combinations like bacon-toffee and cherry-chili, but can also be found in 62 percent and 76 percent dark varieties. Gift boxes include collections of bars ($20-$30) and dipped caramels ($24) as well as a selection of gooey, spreadable caramel in jars ($24).

Jerk’N Pickle
Inspired by her brother’s lifelong appreciation for beef jerky and pickles, Denise Yosso and her husband, David, created artisanal outfit Jerk’N Pickle two years ago. Marinating Choice Angus beef for 12-16 hours lends the jerky an impeccable texture, highlighted by eight different flavors that include jalapeño, hot pepper, habanero and even gluten-free (each variety is $7 for 1.5 oz/$13 for 3.5 oz). And on the pickled side of things, there’s hot, spicy, half-sour and dill (of course). There’s also the chance to make someone a “Jerk” of the month with the subscription service (starting at $115/3 months). Available at Draeger’s, the College of San Mateo, Sigona’s Farmer’s Market specialty stores and Redwood City’s Key Market.

Jam
Jam began with an extremely limited-edition batch of preserves created from the fruit of a single Blenheim apricot tree and, thanks to a rave review in Food & Wine, became a full-fledged phenomenon. They’ve since located more of the rare apricots to meet customer demand, and expanded into other jams, barbecue sauces, marmalades, caramel sauces and cookies. Their products can be found in South Bay stores, including Mollie Stone’s, Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma and the College of San Mateo Market.

Barefoot Coffee
Since 2003, Barefoot Coffee (San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos) offers a seasonally rotating lineup of single-origin coffees from Latin America and Africa. Through its direct trade process, Barefoot deals directly with the farmers. Share the love with one of their many gift baskets ($46.75-$67.75) and sampler sets or, for caffeine addicts, get a coffee subscription—every two weeks for either three, six or 12 months, receive a new 12-ounce bag of coffee (starting at $113.25). Barefoot offers workshops and samplings at its San Jose roastery, 76 Sunol St., San Jose. Samplings are $4-$5 each and workshops, which include bean roasting and latte art, run $45-$65. The winter schedule had not been announced at press time.

Chantal Guillon
An authentic taste of Paris has popped up at Chantal Guillon on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto. All of the delicate pastel-colored macarons are made in-house and are gluten-free. Former restaurateur Guillon stays true to her French roots with classic flavors like pistachio and salted caramel, but also pays homage to her American audience with novelties like red velvet. A box of 24 macarons is $42.

Satori Tea Company
Crumpets served on delicate China do not come with a side of fussiness at Satori Tea Company, which makes it a laid-back spot to take a friend to tea. Afternoon tea options range from the lighter finger sandwiches and tea ($11) to a full spread of scones, crumpets, finger sandwiches and tea, ($29; with champagne for $39.95). Weekend teas require reservations, but during the week, walk-ins can usually be accommodated. Satori’s tea shop carries black, green and oolong teas, rooibos and herbal infusions, and many specialty blends, such as the stone fruit-infused black tea Valley of the Heart’s Delight ($10.38 for ⅛ ounce) or Coconut Ginger Snap, green tea with bits of coconut and ginger ($7.50 for ⅛ ounce). The shop also stocks tea pots, mugs and accoutrements, including slow-melting Turkish sugar crystals ($7) and a retro robot-shaped tea infuser ($7).